A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

are accessible to vulnerable populations, including women (through positive measures to
ensure women’s equal participation); separated and accompanied children (as guided by the
“best interest of the child”); illiterate and disabled persons (through special assistance); and
users, including tenants (through the availability of collective claims). 142
• The Government of Liberia should ensure that claims forms are easy to understand and
available in Liberian English or Liberian indigenous languages through translators when
needed. 143
• The Government of Liberia should increase public knowledge about the claims process both
throughout Liberia and in the diaspora, ensure the availability of legal aid, locate claims
stations in areas of claimants’ current residence, and provide internet based, proxy, and inperson
submission options. 144
• The Government of Liberia should take steps to prevent the persecution or punishment of
claimants for submitting a claim. 145
• The Government of Liberia
should use the remedy of
compensation only when: “the
remedy of restitution is not
possible, or when the injured party
knowingly and voluntarily accepts
compensation in lieu of restitution,
or when the terms of a negotiated
peace settlement provide for a
combination of restitution and
compensation.” 147 In some cases,
however, a combination of both
compensation and restitution may
be appropriate. 148
• The Government of Liberia
should ensure that the right of
Potential Implementation Strategy:
Food and Agriculture Organization Land Tenure
Studies: Access to Rural Land and Land Administration
after Violent Conflicts
The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United
Nations has promulgated a guide on addressing postconflict
access to rural land and land administration.
The guide includes a section on the development of
policies related to access to land, specifically restitution,
resettlement, establishment of an operational
system, and coordination and communication. Also,
the document discusses implementation of policies,
including evaluations. 146 The Government of Liberia may
wish to refer to this guide when developing its policies
on land reform and administration.
refugees and displaced persons to housing, land, and property restitution is incorporated
into legislation, which should be internally consistent and compatible with other agreements
and international human rights law, clearly demarcate all affected and eligible persons or
groups, and fully protect women and girls against discrimination. 149 Laws that prejudice the
restitution process or are discriminatory should not be adopted or should be repealed. 150
• The Government of Liberia should delegate enforcement of restitution decisions to specific
public agencies. 151 The government should take steps to educate secondary occupants of their
rights and legal ramifications of refusing to comply with restitution decisions, and prevent
the obstruction of enforcement of restitution decisions, as well as the “destruction or looting
of contested or abandoned housing, land and property,” such as by inventorying contents. 152
• The Government of Liberia should establish a registration system for housing, land, and
422